


As Gold as The Ring

by LeafRunner



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Smaug, Gen, On Hiatus, Rapunzel Elements, Reverse Journey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-06-13
Packaged: 2019-04-22 16:54:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14313105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeafRunner/pseuds/LeafRunner
Summary: In place of a magical golden flower, there is a Ring. Instead of a beautiful kidnapped princess, there is a hobbit. And instead of Mother Gothel there is..... Mother Gollum?Author's Note: For the protection of your minds, do not envision Gollum in the scarlet dress. It is a scarring experience, bosoms or no bosoms.





	1. Chapter 1

The Ring was no ordinary trinket. It had been forged in Mordor by the Dark Lord. Cut from his hand by Isildur. It was embued with the power to control the Lesser Rings, to enter the Spirit Realm, even to slow aging. Many believed it was the reason Sauron lived on. Or at least it was until the Ring was destroyed. 

Gollum had found the Ring in a river and had used its powers to keep him young for centuries. The Ring strove to leave and return to Sauron. But he kept the Ring hidden on an island in a cave because it pained him to wear it, even to touch it. That was how the hobbits found it. 

Bungo Baggins was not a brave hobbit but he was one who loved his wife dearly. Every hobbit in the Shire knew their love. He had built Bag End as a gift to her and had dared marry a Took, to the shame of many of his cousins, because his love for her was undying. But she was dying. Bungo sat by her side every day until he could no longer sit and watch her die. So he set out on an adventure that would have shamed the Baggin family had it not been such an important mission. As it was, half the Baggins clan and all the Tooks came with him. They scoured Middle Earth looking for a cure. They travelled to the dwarves, to the Dunedain, to the Elves. But there was no cure for Bungo's beloved Belladonna. So he chased a myth. In history books, he had read of a Ring of power. One that everyone fought over. He knew not of its powers but the innocent hobbit believed that the only thing worth fighting for was health and wisdom, both things he needed. 

The bravest of the Tooks- Isengrim, Hildifons, Hildigrim, Hildibrand- and the most loyal of the Baggins- Bingo, Bungo's brother- wandered high mountains and deep caves looking for the lost Ring. And they found it, completely by accident. It lay in Goblin caves, just sitting in the path. It called to Bungo. And he answered the call.

The Ring was brought to the Shire and given to Belladonna, who swallowed it whole. For the next week, she battled a fever and the illness grew worse then ever before. Bungo doubted his actions, wondering if he might have poisoned his love. She was so pale, she almost seemed translucent. But then, it abated. She grew strong and gave birth to a son, Bilbo. He was beautiful. Some even said he was the most beautiful hobbit in all the Shire. His eyes were rich and bright, the same blue-green as Belladonna's. His skin, even fresh from the womb was a warm gold. But his hair outshone it all, rich and vibrant. As gold as the Ring that had saved his mother. The same gold as the Ring.

All of Hobbiton rejoiced! The Big Tree had parties under it from morning til night. But their happiness was not to last. For Gollum had watched the hobbits enter the Goblin caves. The "sneaky hobbitses" had came in too big of a group for him to attack. He had had to wait. He followed them through the burning, bright lands to the green Shire. When he saw the babe.... Gollum knew, it was his "precious." 

Gollum crept into Bag End, stole the child, and disappeared. Without a trace. The hobbits searched and searched for the child but he was gone. Gollum had not returned to the dark caves, no. He had found a better hiding place. One where no hobbits would dare go. Deep tunnels, dark tunnels, hidden in a mountain. And the mountain was guarded by a dragon.


	2. Chapter 2

The dragon lay peacefully. Air left his nostrils in huge plumes of steam. His scaled sides heaved with each enormous breath. A snore escaped his lips. The tiny golden-haired creature took that as a sign that it was safe to enter. He crept slowly toward the piles of gold. In particular, he had his eyes on the white stones. They were elf stones, beautiful and shimmering. He had always wanted to touch them, to see if they were as warm as they looked. His bare feet padded silently and in his arms were piles of curled hair that he dared not let drag, lest it give him away. He quietly scaled the pile of gold and reached to touch the stones- then the gold moved.

Bilbo tumbled, head over heels down the pile. The world spun and came to a sudden stop as huge claws caught him and lifted him into the air. A golden eye studied him balefully.

His voice rumbled darkly. "That's twenty-two for me." A puff of smoke escaped his lips as he laughed deeply.

"Smaug! I could have sworn you were asleep!" He squirmed in the dragon's grasp but smiled nonetheless. " How about twenty-three out of forty-five?"

"You should know better than that. A dragon never sleeps." He set the little creature down and hid his fond smile behind his claws. "Don't you have better things to do than harass an old dragon?" 

"Of course. But this is the most fun thing to do!" Bilbo laughed and spun, accidentally twisting himself into a cocoon of hair that he quickly struggled free of. "Oh...candlesticks." Bilbo plopped down and looked at the tangles in his hair he had just created. "This will take forever to brush out." The dragon laughed without mercy and settled back to rest again as Bilbo plucked a golden hairbrush from the hoard and worked it through the thick curls and messy snarls. "Do you think Father would kill me if I just chopped it all off?"

"Undoubtedly."

Bilbo sighed and set back to work. Father probably would. After all, magical hair was not as common as it should be. It was rather useful, even if it did get caught on everything. But Father said that magic that like his should be protected and hidden. That it was precious.

"Can you smell him, Smaug? Where is Father?"

The enormous head turned toward the dwarves tunnels. "He is hunting. Smells like a successful hunt. Fish." He raised his lip in disgust. "I hate fish."

"Maybe you should go hunting yourself."

"Maybe." Smaug yawned toothily and settled back to sleep. Bilbo studied his sleeping form for a moment before sighing and returning to the snarles of his hair. His brush got caught right at the nape of his neck, same place it always stuck. He growled in annoyance and worked the brush viciously through the hair until it was gentle, neat curls.

Bilbo left the treasure room and his sleeping friend and wandered through the kingdom. The world was a misty gray, as always. He passed whispering spirits that sat next to their skeletons. He had asked Smaug about the spirits but Smaug said that he saw nothing. His Father had hissed at him when he asked. Bilbo had figured out quickly that he was the only one who could see them. He could see the spirits, hear constant dark whispers, and was what Smaug called "colorblind." Apparently, the world was full of colors that he couldn't see. All there was were shades of blacks. The gems in the treasure room shone a brilliant, warm white like moonlight.

The kingdom was huge. Smaug had told him stories about his desolation of Erebor. But it wasn't the tales of destruction that interested him as much as the tales he found in the library. It was a beautiful room with arching ceilings and mosaics on the walls. It was one of the more untouched rooms. Father didn't like it and Smaug found it difficult to squeeze through the doorways and was too lazy to knock down walls. But he had burned many of the books. Over half the library was torched from his initial attack. The books that were left were about cooking and crafting and art, at least that's what he supposed from the pictures. Smaug cared nothing for the scratches that he said was called "writing" and Father got agitated at the sight of books.

But no looking at books until the other work was done. Bilbo sang to himself, much to the annoyance of Smaug's sensitive ears. He liked to make up tunes and poetry to amuse himself, though, he never knew if they were much good. But they were entertaining. Bilbo cleaned the Royal Quarters today, sweeping, mopping, dusting. Cleaning seemed like an endless, useless task but seeing the kingdom in disorder was worse in Bilbo's mind than doing the work. He liked to work. He cooked as often as he could (Smaug had introduced him to the delights of cooked meals, a delight his Father didn't share) and loved to do crafts like he saw in the kingdom. He had a knack for jewelry and light fingered work like whittling but metal work always resulted in disaster, not that that stopped Bilbo from trying anyway. It was a way to keep himself busy. If he wasn't busy... Bilbo felt he would go mad.

There was something about Erebor that made him feel locked inside. It didn't matter how large the kingdom was, there was still something missing. Bilbo liked to sit on the parapets and walls and try to look out but there was little to be seen except the ruins and Dale and the desolated land around the Lonely Mountain, inhabited by a lonely hobbit.

"Preeeeciiiiooouusssssss! Precioussssss!" Bilbo raced through the kingdom to the mines, leaving his unfinished work behind him. He saw two glowing eyes, like lights watching him from the depths of the Mountain. They came closer and closer each second. His Father's bony form soon appeared. Two fish, blind and pale, from the caves were in his jaws. His eyes lit up as he saw Bilbo. He scrambled to Bilbo's side and ran his hands through his golden locks. "Precious! My birthday present!" He shoved a fish toward Bilbo and continued to stroke his hair. "Sing for me, precious." Bilbo smiled fondly at his Father and complied.

"Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul." Those were the words whispered in his ear always but Bilbo had liked it better as a song. It seemed less dark, more hopeful. He had asked Smaug what it meant once (not the translation, he knew that- One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them; One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.- but what it MEANT.) Smaug had laughed and not answered. He was annoying like that sometimes.

Father Gollum melted into the hobbit's hair, his Precious. He felt the age in his bones dissipate and the fear and anxiety he had had disappear. His Precious, yes, Gollum, Gollum. "Tricksey hobbitses stoles it but I am trickseyer and stoles it back." He cackled and pulled Bilbo's face toward him with a fistful of hair. "Tricksey hobbitses." Bilbo flinched back from his hiss.

"Father?"

Gollum hissed again and crawled away from Bilbo, hissing and retreating into the dark. Bilbo watched his father warily, but Gollum wasn't violent today, choosing to hide and glower rather than attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This must mean Smaug is Pascal.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alright, the ball shall get rolling! Sorry for the delay.
> 
> Also, I decided to take away all references to Bilbo as a hobbit (in the previous chapter as well), so I had to weirdly word a couple things. Reasons for this:  
> 1- In the books, Smaug does not recognize the smell of the hobbit, not knowing what a hobbit is.  
> 2- Gollum would likely never tell Bilbo, at least not in a way he'd understand. Gollum is not the type of father to sit his child down and explain what kind of creature Bilbo is.

Smaug sighed and rolled over, ignoring Bilbo's squeak as he tumbled off the dragon's back. A light thud informed Smaug that Bilbo had attempted to kick him and the tings and metallic rings told him that he was now regretting it. Smaug lazily peered at the hopping hobbit. Bilbo's face was scrunching in pain and he clutched at his foot as he bounced around. "Does that really help?"

"Not really." He stopped bouncing and sullenly rubbed at his hairy foot

"Odd little creature." A burst of smoke escaped his nostrils in a dragon's laugh and he snuggled into his gold, belly up, to go back to sleep.

"Wait! Smaug-"

"What now, little one?"

"Tell me again of trees." The golden-haired boy climbed onto Smaug's belly.

Smaug grumbled and nestled deeper into his gold. "Why you care about them, I will never know." But he told what he remembered. "They were tall, at least for a creature of your size, whatever you are. Even a young tree would tower over you. Some of the biggest trees, I imagine I could stack hundreds of you and still not reach the top. They burned well though. I always say a tree looks best on fire." He chortled as Bilbo threw a handful of coins at his chin that bounced harmlessly off. "Fruits grew in trees. I never tried one but they were said to be sweet and filling. I think you'd have enjoyed them."

\-----------------

Smaug opened his eyes and glared at the slimy creature as he dragged Bilbo into the treasure room. He snarled at the little not-dwarf and threw him towards Smaug, storming away. 

"Pray tell what that was about?"

"I-" A small sniffle escaped Bilbo and he ducked his head to hide his face. "I asked to go outside and see the flowers."

"Oh, Bilbo-"

"He said I was too stupid, and fat. That I would get eaten. That people would take me and lock me away. He told me.... I'm not weak, am I Smaug? I can run fast and cross the kingdom within hours. And I can carry some of the biggest treasures. And you said I am so silent you can barely hear me. I could take care of myself."

Smaug longed to sleep again but knew Bilbo would pester him if he didn't answer. "You are small. And most humans would even call you pretty, though I think your scaleless face is ugly. Your talents are those that only a thief-a burglar- would use. In the world out there, you must have talents. You have none. I fear I agree with your father."

Bilbo didn't bring his head up but Smaug could smell the salt of his sorrow. "Of course," His small, hoarse voice broke the silence. "What was I thinking."

\------------------

Bilbo had long known about the passageway that lead to nowhere. It was such an odd thing but he had never found a door so he had supposed it was an unfinished hallway. But then, a man came through.

The man was taller than anyone he'd ever seen, probably a foot taller than himself! And his hair.... Bilbo had only ever seen his own curls or Father Gollum's lanky strands. This man had a darker hair that was braided into intricate shapes. His face hair- which Bilbo had never even imagined was possible- was in three thick ponytails of multiple braids each, with the middle braid bunch being the smallest. Beautiful silver cuffs held them together. His eyebrows were braided up into the three points onto his head. All together it looked like a six-pointed star, which Bilbo thought was a lovely sentiment. He wore many layers of clothes as if he was cold, which was silly as Smaug's heat kept the castle plenty warm. And he walked so funny! Bilbo suddenly paused in his thoughts. Perhaps he was the one who was walking funny, after all, he had never been in the outside world. Carefully, biting his lips in concentration, Bilbo stepped onto his tiptoes, hunching his shoulders and protruding his rear, and started to walk stealthy in the man's footsteps.

At every corner, the man would stop and peer around the corner quickly, as if watching for something. Bilbo chuckled silently at the thought of anything in the mountain being scary. Even though the man was acting sneaky, he would occasionally grumble and sigh quietly, as if wishing he was elsewhere. Bilbo knew that feeling. He almost felt a sort of bond to this man. He followed the man into the treasure room. The man crept through the piles of gold, searching for something. Occassionally, he would pocket a gold coin or gem. Bilbo grinned, waiting for Smaug to pop up and catch them. But it was silent. Bilbo frowned and looked around. Smaug must really be asleep. The man would probably stop taking things soon, it was no fun when Smaug wasn't awake to catch you. Deeper and deeper, the man moved into the treasury, taking things that belonged to Smaug. Suddenly, he stopped. He stood, staring up at a large shimmering gem. Bilbo didn't like that gem, it made him feel sick, but the man scrambled up the mountain of gold and grabbed it and bolted toward the exit. Bilbo chased after.

All of Bilbo's life he had heard of thieves from Smaug and "tricksey hobbitses" from his father. This man was not going into the treasure room to talk to Smaug, he didn't even know him! He wasn't going in there to play with Smaug. He had taken things and was trying to run away. A hobbitses! A burglar! A thief! Smaug had warned him about thieves. What if the man came after him next? Bilbo glanced around wildly and found an old metal shield laying on the ground. He picked it up and silently dashed up behind the man and swung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this make Nori Flynn Rider? We'll see....


	4. Chapter 4

Smaug growled in displeasure. "Let me eat him." He dared not torch the dwarf scum. Bilbo had tied him up, using his hair of course. Smaug may not have felt as much of a draw toward the golden magic as a human or dwarf but it did keep him from setting the dwarf on fire. "Bilbo." A snarl slipped through his lips. Bilbo had dragged the dwarf in, in a near panic. He had the man tied up, knocked out, and had shown Smaug all the treasure the sneaking dwarf had tried to steal. And then, his mood had changed. Smaug snarled as he watched Bilbo parade around.

"Too weak to handle myself out there, huh, Smaug?" Bilbo smugly dusted at his shoulder. "Well tell that to my-" Smaug flicked a small pile of coins at the arrogant halfling. "Gah!" He ducked to shield himself then popped back up. "What was that for?"

"Let me eat him!"

"No. Don't you see, he is proof to my father that I can take care of myself!"

"All the proof in the world will not change his mind. Besides, he's gone for a few weeks. You will have to leave the creature alone sometime and then I will eat him."

"Smaug!"

\------------------

Nori groaned in pain as he felt himself come back. Being knocked unconscious was, sadly, a very familiar feeling but that never made waking up easier. He peeled his eyes open and glanced around him. What- He was in Erebor! He stared at the arching ceilings, beautiful craftsmanship, just as Dori had told him. And the gold, so much gold. Nori remembered snitching some to take home but he couldn't reach into his pocket for it. His hands were bound. Nori snorted at the amateur knots and slipped out a small knife that he had hidden in his arm braces but... was this.... hair? Nori hesistated.

"Struggling- struggling is useless." The soft voice sounded as if it were a child, trying to act tough. Nori easily spotted the shadow of the speaker as it crept toward him. "I'm not afraid of you." Nori raised a curious eyebrow but as the creature emerged his mouth fell open in disbelief. The creature was a small creature, dressed only in a thin dwarven shirt covered in strange embroidery and trousers. Pointed ears like an elf but shorter than a dwarf. His skin was a pale gold, a cream, and his eyes shone like jewels. And his hair, it was curls of unbound gold, silken and beautiful. Not a single braid in it. Nori blushed at the shamefulness of it. His mind quickly connected the dots between the beautiful locks of the creature and the hair binding his wrists. Thank Mahal he had not cut it. He never would have forgiven himself for marring this creature's beauty. A sword caught his eye as the creature shakily raised it toward Nori. "Who are you, and how did you find us?"

Nori stared speechlessly at the sword. He glanced at the creature's shaking wrists. "You're kidding me, right?"

"What?"

"Everyone knows about the Lonely Mountain and its treasures. Though, I must say, you are an unexpected surprise." Nori winked. "I'd ask you if you killed the dragon, little one but with your shaking arms, I'd say not likely." He laughed loudly but the creature didn't laugh with him. "So where is the dragon, huh? Finally die of old age?" Nori hoped that was the case. He could fight but taking on a dragon was a bit above his paygrade, though for 1/13th of this mountain of gold he might consider it. Nori looked around searching for the dragon but the only thing in the room was the little- Nori jerked back in his chair. "GET AWAY FROM ME DRAGON! I SWEAR, IT WAS NOT MY IDEA TO COME HERE! LET ME BE!"

"I'm not a drag-"

"LET ME LIVE!" Nori thrashed trying to get away from the dragon. Why had no one warned him dragons could change there shapes! Fly, breath fire, shapeshift, they seemed to become more dangerous everytime he turned around. A heavy puff of scalding air hit the back of Nori's neck and he froze.

"Trust me, dwarf-scum." A rumble filled the treasury. "If I had my way, you'd be dead."

"Wh-why am I still alive then." Nori squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see the monster behind him. Mahal, some of the Company had to come looking for him soon. He'd even welcome Dwalin at this point! He knew they should have waited for the wizard to return before entering the Mountain. Now he was going to die because of Thorin Oakenarse's impatience.

"Why?" The dragon huffed another burning breath. "Listen to Bilbo and he'll tell you."

"I-" The creature licked at his lips, suddenly hesistant. "I want you to take me to see the outside world!"

"What?"

"I was....I want to see trees, and flowers. And grass. I want to see-"

You are in Erebor! The place dwarves have dreamt of for centuries! And you want to go see the outside? Trust me. The outside world is not worth it. This, this is a place worth staying. Look at all this gold!"

Bilbo looked around and looked back at the dwarf. "I want to see the outside world, and you are going to take me. I am prepared to offer you a deal."

"A deal?"

"Yes. You take me to see the world and in return, I give you the gem you were looking for." Nori's eyes went large. "I have hidden it in the mountain, which I know better than anyone else. You could never find it. But... if you take me out and return me safely I will give it to you. Smaug said I could." His face lit up in a smile that about blew Nori's mind. It was so like his little brother's, Ori's.

"And if...I don't agree?"

The low voice behind him purred in delight. "Then I eat you."


	5. Chapter 5

Dori paced outside the door. Ori knitted worriedly with the yarn his brother had stolen for him in Laketown. What if he had seen the last of Nori? What if Nori had been eaten by the dragon?

"Dori." Balin stood and put a hand on the dwarf's shoulder. "Sit and rest your mind. It is a large treasury, surely it will take him a long time to find the Arkenstone."

"A long time, yes, but 3 hours? No. Something must have happened." He shrugged out of Balin's grasp.

"You know how Nori is." Dwalin did not pause from sharpening his axes. "He is likely just filling his pockets for himself first."

"Once again, 'for 3 hours?'" Dori grabbed his mace and headed for the tunnel. Thorin stepped in front of him, eyes cold.

"You will not risk revealing us to the dragon. Your brother chose to be our burglar. This was his choice, I will not have you bring death to the rest of us."

Dori shoved Thorin out of the way. "He is my brother."

"And he is likely dead." Thorin grabbed his eyes fiercely but his face was pitying. "We will wait for his return but I will not allow you to go after him."

"Then we will wait." Dori went to Bri's side and they sat, silently, solemnly, waiting for a brother who may never return.

\-----------------------

"Did you hear that?" Kili elbowed Fili in the gut. Fili shoved Kili in return but sat up.

"Hear what?" 

"I thought I heard a cry."

"Can you be quiet?" A voice came from the pile of sleeping dwarves. "You are supposed to be on watch not gossiping."

"I thought I heard something."

A reddish head popped up. "Heard something? Was it Nori?" Ori scrambled to their side, dragging his coat on. The other dwarves woke and followed. 

Dwalin cuffed Kili upside the head and hissed at him. "You idiot, what if it is nothing? You will have raised his hopes again for no reason." Kili winced at the thought. They had all listened to Ori's sniffles as he cried for his lost brother. 

"I never said it was him-"

"Quiet!" Fili put his hand over Kili's mouth. "I heard it too!" Everyone fell silent. A distant cry echoed out.

"Dooooooooooooooooorrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii"

"That's him!" Ori dashed to his bedroll and put on his boots. He raced down the steps. "Nori! Nori, I'm coming!"

Dwalin and Thorin met eyes. "That came from the front gates."

"How did he get there?" grunted Dwalin. The rest of the dwarves followed in Ori's footsteps but all carried their weapons, even Dori.

The herd of dwarves about tumbled down the step mountainside as they raced to the gate, cautious but hopeful. It was a long run but meeting them at the end was Nori, cheekily rolling a large gold coin between his fingers. Ori threw himself into his brother's embrace and Dori dropped his mace to hug him.

"I was sure that you were dead." Dori spoke for Ori who was crying into Nori's neck.

Nori grinned. "Well, it takes more than a dragon to kill me." 

"Don't be so cocky," a deep voice rumbled from the mountain and froze the celebration. "I can still change my mind." The dwarves scrambled back as the huge crimson head of Smaug emerged from over the walls.

"And make the golden one cry?" Nori shook his head in disbelief. "You wouldn't."

"Nori!" Balin hissed at the thief. "Silence!"

"It's okay, Balin. We made a deal."

"A deal?" Thorin raised a dubious eyebrow. "With what as your bargaining chip?"

The thief winced. "I was afraid you were going to ask that." He pulled at one of his beard braids. "The Arkenstone." Thorin's face darkened. "But!" Nori scrambled for words. "It's a easy deal! All we have to do is escort someone to the lake and back."

"Why to the lake? To hand us over to the elves?"

"No, because the lake is the nearest place with vegetation and Bilbo would dearly like to see flowers." Nori held out a hand behind him and all the dwarves looked toward the tiny creature who exited the gate.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to those who hate Tauriel, I just had to toss this in.

"What is Mahal's bushy beard is that?" Kili approached to little creature. "Look at this, he's not even five foot!" Kili bent to look at the creature's face. "And his ears! Say... are you a dwarf-elf half-breed because if you are, shagging Tauriel is looking better and better."

"Kili! Don't you dare even suggest a dwarf would have a child with a tree-shagger. And who is this 'Tauriel'?" Thorin thundered. The rest of the dwarves jumped into the argument to defend dwarrow honor but Smaug silenced them all with a snarl. 

"Let's get moving. I wish to reach Greenwood by night."

"Good luck with that." Nori chuckled. "It took us a few days to get from Laketown to here and even there isn't a lot of greenery."

"Curse your dwarves stubs for legs." Immediately a protest arose from the dwarves at this comment. "Silence or I will roast you all."

"Smaug..." The little creature glanced up at the dragon. "You can't fry them. They are to be my guide."

"I can still threaten to fry them. Besides, if they die, more will come soon enough. Two-leggers are such pests. Disgusting little beasts. I hate their little infestations. Besides, I am coming along as well." He hushed the hobbit's protests. "I will not tolerate them to hurt you and you are too weak to walk the distance."

"Hey, we wouldn't hurt the little guy." Bofur tugged on the ends of his hat, nervous at being so close to a dragon but utterly earnest. The creature smiled and his small face lit up. He came a little closer to them, tentative and shy and very young looking. Bifur trilled in pleasure as he saw the creature. He held out a hand and the little elf took it. His hands were tender, soft callouses across his palms but nothing more. Bifur looked at his nails and found nothing but a bit of dirt. He gestured a sign to his brother _Unapprenticed_

. Bofur signed back _Old enough_

"How old are you?"

"About fifty winters." In dwarf year, he would still be a child but if they went by human years, he was an adult. Which measurement to use was the question. 

"What are you?"

"Bilbo."

"No, 'what' are you?"

"I don't know."

"Hobbit would be my guess." Balin approached the group, the rest of the dwarves still fighting behind him. "He is about the right height. And the feet...the only other option is a baby elf but I doubt elf have feet like that." He nodded toward Bilbo's oversized, hairy feet. "He must be a hobbit."

"I'm not a hobbit! I have always returned everything I took!"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not a hobbitses! Promise!"

Smaug huffed smoke in amusement. "Hobbit and thief must not be synonymous, no matter how your father uses them." He lowered his massive head and bumped Bilbo into a stumble. "This is a discussion for the road. The sooner we leave, the sooner we return so I may sleep again."

Bilbo squinted at Smaug. "You have been sleeping for years!"

"Not near as much as I need to. A little creature has been stealing my beauty rest."


End file.
